The American First Day Cover Society has arranged for two seminars at Great American Stamp Show 2023 featuring top philately-related officials of the U.S. Postal Service. GASS will be held August 10-13 at the Huntington Convention Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

William Gicker (right, in 2019), director of USPS Stamp Services, which chooses and designs stamps and stationery, will speak Thursday, August 10, at 1 p.m. Top managers from USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services —Teri Basinger, its overall manager; Linda Houghtaling, Senior Operations Manager; Betty Brown, manager of stamp production; and Dave Mapel, Cancellation Services supervisor — will have a seminar on Friday, August 11, also at 1 p.m. All stamps are distributed to post offices and sold through SFS, and cancellations are applied to first day covers there.

The U.S. is issuing two sets of stamps during GASS: “Life Magnified” on Thursday and “Thinking Of You” on Friday. In addition, the United Nations, Faroe Islands and Marshall Islands will issue stamps at the show.

The seminars are free and open to the public. Admission to Great American Stamp Show is also free. More details are available here.

The AFDCS is a co-sponsor of the show, along with the American Philatelic Society and American Topical Association. Other AFDCS seminars will be held, along with the society’s annual meetings, and the results of the annual cachet contest will be announced. Further information on the show is also here.

The American First Day Cover Society is a not-for-profit educational organization. It publishes its journal First Days six times a year, as well as handbooks and catalogues, and promotes the collecting and exhibiting of both modern and “classic” issues and cachets.

For more information on the AFDCS, visit www.afdcs.org or write to the AFDCS, PO Box 246, Colonial Beach, VA 22443-0246, or via e-mail at afdcs@afdcs.org.

A few updates on Great American Stamp Show 2023, which will include the American First Day Cover Society’s Americover 2023:

• The show hotel block is 72% booked. A sellout appears likely; don’t dawdle! At $139 a night (show rate), you’re not likely to do much better in downtown Cleveland.
• Function tickets (banquets, etc.) are now on sale on the website.
• A pre-show learning course has been scheduled: “All About Cancellations,” taught by Gary Loew, on Wednesday, August 9th. Click here for more information. The course is limited to 30 participants.

More information on the show: here

The American Philatelic Society Board of Directors has chosen Schaumburg, Illinois, as the site for Great American Stamp Show 2025. The dates are August 14-17, 2025. It is about 30 miles from the Chicago Loop but, more importantly, adjacent to O’Hare Airport.

The other city under consideration was Las Vegas.

The show hotel for the show will be the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel, a Marriott property directly connected to the convention center.

There will be no GASS in 2026: The APS Board approved skipping its own show that year and instead will hold its annual meeting at Boston 2026, the U.S. international show. Those dates are May 23-30, 2026. In 2016, when the U.S. “international” was held in New York City, the APS instead held its annual show, then called “StampShow,” in Portland, Oregon — the other side of the country, hoping to attract collectors who could not make the trip to the East Coast.

The site for Great American Stamp Show 2023 — Cleveland’s Huntington Convention Center — has self-cleaning escalator hand-rails! Do you need another reason to go?

If so, here’s other new information about the show:

There is now information on the APS website: https://stamps.org/great-american-stamp-show

The show hotel is the Westin Cleveland Downtown, at $139/night. Use the link off the website or “AP1” (that’s a one) or ask for the American Philatelic Society room block.

The Westin is two block from the convention center. All guests will get free WiFi. The parking is valet parking at $42 a night. (A 20% discount may be available; APS is checking.)

Everything at the convention center is cashless. Use debit or credit cards.

The convention center has water bottle filling stations.

The meeting rooms are right outside the bourse area. You may not get a chance to use those escalators!

The U.S. Postal Service will have two first-days at the show.

On the website, you can already request meeting times for your organizations and sign up to volunteer.

The organizers of Great American Stamp Show (August 25-28 in Sacramento) are looking for volunteers: Frame setup, putting up and later taking down exhibits, and so on. You can see some of the specific pre-show needs here.

Other tasks include the registration booth, working in the Youth Area, and at the Stamps By The Bucket and Covers by the Container tables.

For more information about volunteering and to sign up, visit this page. “For each day that four or more hours of service are provided, we will reimburse reasonable out-of-pocket costs, such as a public transportation fare, or parking at the show venue.”

And, “we also plan to give concession coupons to purchase a drink/snack and often times provide snacks to our volunteers from our APS snack supply,” show director Wendy Masorti said in email in response to my question. “Of course a first day cover of Chris Calle’s cachet will be given to each.”

“I’ve only been able to volunteer at these APS-administered shows on an “ad hoc” basis, but I’ve enjoyed it when I have,” said AFDCS president Lloyd A. de Vries. “You meet people, you guide some, and (at those two “by-the-bucket” booths), it’s fun watching the kids (ages 6-86 😉) find stamps and covers for their collections.”

Two-thirds of the hotel rooms reserved for Great American Stamp Show have already been reserved. The $150 a night price at the Sheraton Grand (shown here) is excellent for that part of the city at that time of the year! The direct link to the Hotel page on the APS website is here.

From the APS:
GASS 2022 Exhibitor Prospectus Updated

The exhibiting prospectus for the Great American Stamp Show 2022 in Sacramento has been updated to allow exhibitors a maximum of two multiple and two single-frame exhibits, to be distributed among the three exhibitions however you wish. GASS includes exhibits for the National Topical Stamp Show (NTSS), Americover and APS StampShow.

Please note that for the NTSS competition we can only accept one additional single frame exhibit and the StampShow single frame exhibits are full at this time.

Don’t delay – there is still time to enter your competitive exhibit for GASS 2022 – the entry deadline is May 15th.

All entry forms can be emailed to smyers@stamps.org or mailed to:

American Philatelic Society
Attn: GASS Exhibit Entry
100 Match Factory Place
Bellefonte, PA 16823

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Ken Martin, via e-mail or 814-933-3803 x 205, and Sarah Myers, via e-mail or 814-933-3803 x 209.

[press release]
AFDCS Convention Tour Returns, Better Than Ever

The American First Day Cover Society is again hosting a tour of the area in connection with its annual convention, with a few changes. The excursion takes place on Monday, August 29, the day after Great American Stamp Show in Sacramento, Calif. Membership in the AFDCS is not required.

Among the differences: The tour is co-hosted with the American Topical Association and will be held on the day after the show, which runs August 25-28. The AFDCS’ traditional tour day — before the show — is just too full of other events, including board meetings, booth setups and exhibit mounting.

The tour begins at 8 a.m. when the bus leaves the Sheraton Grand Hotel, across the street from the convention center. A short guided tour of the California capital follows. Next, the group goes to the California State Railroad Museum.

The afternoon will be spent in Old Sacramento with its shops and restaurants, then with a guided tour at the Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park.

The $55 per person includes transportation, admission and the tours. Tickets may be purchased via the AFDCS website at www.afdcs.org/show

The AFDCS and ATA are co-hosts of Great American Stamp Show, along with the American Philatelic Society. The AFDCS has a superbooth at the front of the convention center hall and will have unserviced cachets for the Pony Cars stamps that will be issued at the show, along with serviced FDCs and publications. The AFDCS will also hold its annual membership meeting and banquet at GASS, and has scheduled several seminars.

In addition to its GASS activities, the AFDCS publishes an award-winning journal First Days, handbooks, catalogues and a cachetmakers directory; promotes first day cover exhibiting; holds an annual cachet contest; and has educational programs. For more information on the AFDCS, visit http://www.afdcs.org, write AFDCS, Post Office Box 246, Colonial Beach, VA 22443-0246 or email afdcs@afdcs.org.

[press release]
Great Rate for Great Show
Great American Stamp Show Hotel Rate Is $150

The Sheraton Grand Sacramento, the official show hotel for Great American Stamp Show 2022, is now accepting reservations at the special show rate of $150. The link for online booking is on the American Philatelic Society website at stamps.org/great-american-stamp-show/travel .

The American First Day Cover Society is a co-host of the philatelic event, along with the APS and the American Topical Association. GASS is being held August 25-28 in the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center’s Halls C and D, on the J Street side of the building. The Sheraton Grand is the closest hotel to the stamp show, right across the street.

GASS will be the biggest stamp collecting show of the year, with top exhibits and dealers and meetings of nearly every major philatelic society. The U.S. Postal Service will issue its Pony Cars stamps at the show, with the California Auto Museum just a mile away. The USPS will also have a fully-stocked sales counter.

The Sheraton Grand itself is a combination of old and new. The front portion was originally a public market – a forerunner of today’s modern grocery store and mall. It was a three-story building where fresh produce, baked goods, clothing, and bulk feed were sold, with coffee shops and lunch counters.

Today, that area houses the hotel’s lobby, restaurants and meeting/banquet rooms, while a new 28-story tower houses 503 guest rooms and suites. All those registering with the GASS discount will receive free Wi-Fi in their rooms. Digital check-in, mobile key, room service, a 24-hour fitness center and valet parking are available to all guests.

The “senior” rates for most other hotels in the area start at about $100 more per night; even the nearby Quality Inn is $147. Parking near the convention center for those staying out of town for cheaper hotel rates will soon even the score, at $20+ a day. Staying in the show hotel is also much more convenient, since some meetings and events will be held there.

The AFDCS will hold its open Board of Directors at the Sheraton Grand and likely its President’s Banquet, a nightly hospitality suite and a free breakfast for its Life and Charter members. The Monday post-show tour organized by the AFDCS and ATA will depart from the hotel, too.

In addition to co-hosting GASS, the AFDCS publishes an award-winning journal, a cachetmakers directory, handbooks and catalogues; promotes philatelic exhibiting and cachetmaking; and producing first day covers for select issues.

Membership in the AFDCS starts at $24 for Internet-only access or $35 with the printed magazine, a good asset for any first day cover collector.

For more information on the AFDCS, visit its website www.afdcs.org, email afdcs@afdcs.org or write to the society at Post Office Box 246, Colonial Beach, VA 22443-0246.

[press release]
Major First Day Cover Exhibition in August
Prospectus and Entry Form Now Available

First day cover exhibits will be the focus of a special section at the biggest U.S. stamp show of the year, this summer’s Great American Stamp Show 2022, August 25-28, in Sacramento, Calif.

The exhibit prospectus and entry form are now available. There will be three separate World Series of Philately exhibitions: Americover for first day cover exhibits, National Topical Stamp Show for thematic exhibits, and StampShow for others. The show also includes the multi-frame Champion of Champions, Most Popular Champion of Champions, and Youth Champion of Champions competitions, as well as a Literature competition.

The American First Day Cover Society — a co-host of the show — offers a crystal pyramid, provided by its Claude C. Ries Chapter in Southern California, for the Grand Prize in the Americover competition [photo of the 2017 award is show on the right]. Other special awards which may be conferred include most popular, best exhibit by a novice, and Awards of Excellence for four different time periods. A complete list may be found at www.afdcs.org/show_awards.html.

Space is limited for exhibits, so early application is recommended. The prospectus and entry form can be downloaded at www.stamps.org/great-american-stamp-show/exhibitor-information or requested by mail from APS, 100 Match Factory Place, Bellefonte, PA 16823 or telephone at 814-933-3803. The deadline for applications is May 15.

A fee of $40 will be charged for single-frame exhibits, multi-frame exhibits are $20 per frame. Non-competitive exhibits may be entered, space permitting, at $7.50 per frame, and Youth exhibits are $5.00 per frame. Noncompetitive exhibits will only be accepted if they add significantly to the show.

Membership in the APS, AFDCS, or any other philatelic society is not required. Want to learn more about exhibiting first day covers? The American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors and the AFDCS have prepared a brochure, which can be downloaded at www.afdcs.org/exhibiting.html.

The AFDCS publishes handbooks, catalogues, directories and a bimonthly award-winning journal, First Days. The society also produces some FDCs, advocates for first day cover collecting and exhibiting, and offers awards for the best FDC exhibits at other shows.

For more information on the AFDCS, visit its website www.afdcs.org, email exhibits@afdcs.org or write to the society at Post Office Box 246, Colonial Beach, VA 22443-0246.